Alana Burke: Liberals should practice what they preach

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee may very well be a chicken sandwich and waffle fries kind of guy, but the ultimate anti-boycott that he organized for the fast food restaurant Chick-fil-A went far beyond the culinary. Huckabee and the record-setting number of people who attended, "Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day" showed up to lend their support to the restaurant's CEO, Dan Cathy, accused of being anti-gay because of his beliefs on same-sex marriage.

Recently Cathy strongly vocalized the company's support of traditional marriage — a position that President Obama also held as recently as early 2012 before he started scrambling for votes and ever so sincerely changed his position. Obama was given a pass then for defining marriage as "a union between a man and a woman" (he was open to civil unions for gays) and further: "For me as a Christian it is also a sacred union. You know, God is in the mix." Obama got that pass because he is a liberal, but the blowback Cathy received from the liberal community was virulent — a typical response to any conservative who will not toe the radical left's line.

There has been much debate on whether Casey was simply exercising free speech or is a homophobic bigot and if the left has attacked his religious freedom. However, the all-encompassing issue is the left's persistent and hypocritical lack of tolerance for conservative values while incessantly demanding not just tolerance but promotion of their own values. This hypocrisy and the mainstream media's refusal to put it in the limelight is journalistically reprehensible and even moderate liberals turn a blind eye because politically, it suits them to do so.

Huckabee stated, "Let's affirm a business that operates on Christian principles and whose executives are willing to take a stand for the Godly values we espouse by simply showing up and eating at Chick Fil-A." On the left, the blogosphere is burning with anti-Christian commentary and personal assassinations of Cathy's character. Activist/writer Scott Wooledge wrote a "tongue in cheek" bit for the Huffington Post declaring the restaurant had plans for "Hater Wednesdays," "You're a dirty heathen day," "You look illegal day" and "Shame on independent women day."

Several "thought police" mayors and officials jumped into the fray with statements allowing for discrimination against businesses whose values they don't agree with. If a conservative mayor even hinted at such a policy he'd be out of office. Not so with Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who rolled up his welcome mat saying, "Chick-fil-A's values are not Chicago values." His statement was actually a backhanded compliment because conservatives aren't thrilled with Obama's values or his Chicago mantle.

Chick-fil-A does have a history of donating to Christian groups opposed to gay marriage such as the Family Research Council and the Marriage and Family Foundation. On the "Equality Matters: A Campaign for Full LGBT Equality" website, the Marriage and Family Foundation is derided for "pooling funds for a national marriage media campaign and providing start-up grants for local initiatives to promote stable, lasting marriages." Apparently the LGBT community doesn't like the idea of stable, long lasting marriages that are heterosexual. Why so intolerant?

Liberal power players donate to such groups as Media Matters, an organization that is ferociously antagonistic toward anything conservative, and gay PACs like the Human Rights Campaign, which has the stated goal of increasing public support for homosexuality among all Americans. The head of Amazon.com donated $2.5 million to support gay marriage in the state of Washington. How are these donations different from Cathy's donations to organizations that promote his values?

Dan Cathy has every right to hold and express his opinion. Since the First Amendment does not protect against criticism of free speech, the LGBT community has every right to protest with their "National Same-Sex Kiss Day" held at Chick-fil-A's across the nation in retaliation to Huckabee's "Appreciation Day." Both sides are entitled to their values, their free speech and their right to protest.

However, what the left consistently fails to acknowledge is that equality does not mean that the minority status of homosexuals is a more valid status than heterosexuals.

They are just a smaller percentage of the population. As such, self-proclaimed "open minded" liberals and the LGBT community ought to practice what they preach, disavow their own intolerance and treat those with different viewpoints as they would like to be treated.